The Don and the Nation
by Sweet Serendipitea
Summary: For many grown-ups, Santa isn't real, he's just a made-up legend to cheer kids up, right? Wrong. He's very much alive and well, and that's what the founder of the legendary Vongola will find out when he receives an unexpected visit from Santa.


**Just something that popped into my mind last Christmas but never got published until now :P**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Katekyo Hitman Reborn nor Hetalia. Both of them belong to Akira Amano and Himaruya Hidekazu respectively.**

Giotto woke up early and cheerfully in the morning, and went straight to his office. Why was the founder of Vongola so happy? It was Christmas Eve, the time where family and friends gathered together to have fun and celebrate Christmas.

The Vongola mansion was already decorated, with Christmas garlands strung everywhere. The huge Christmas tree, which the butlers and maids had spent several days decorating, stood in its entire green, leafy splendor in the large dining room, with shiny baubles hanging off most of the branches.

Giotto had made sure that all his Guardians were able to come for the Christmas dinner he had organized. Even Alaude and Daemon Spade were attending (Giotto had made sure they couldn't take any missions that would make them able to skip out).

Truthfully, the blond was rather nervous. This was going to be his first Christmas dinner with everyone, and there was going to be a high chance that there would be chaos in the room, if the normal meals they had together (though they were few and far in between) were any indication. The grand dining room would probably be ruined…. Giotto really didn't want to think what his Guardians could do to each other in the span of 2 hours. Picking up another sheet from one of the stacks of paperwork on his desk, Giotto scanned the pages before signing them and filing them once his signature was written on the bottom of the paper in elegant cursive.

Giotto hoped that at the end of the day his dining room would still be intact.

The Vongola boss felt like banging his head against the table. Everything had been perfect, until Lampo's mashed potato was accidentally flung onto G's shirt. Naturally, G started yelling at the teen, and Asari, always the peacekeeper, tried to calm them down. Alaude proceeded to arrest the bickering Guardians, and Daemon began teasing the Frenchman. The skylark instantly took the bait, completely forgetting about the three Guardians in his annoyance with the Mist Guardian, and began fighting Daemon. Knuckle started to lecture that everyone shouldn't be fighting each other, especially not at the dinner table, but everyone was too preoccupied with their opponents in both verbal and physical battle.

Giotto felt like crying as Alaude broke another one of the precious vases that Giotto had imported from Egypt last month, after a previous incident where Daemon broke all his fine china. The exquisite piece of pottery breaking into thousands of flying shrapnel as the attack the Frenchman had sent at Daemon missed.

On the other side of the table, Lampo and G were having a rather one-sided fight in G's favor, with Lampo running away from the various items from the dinner table that G threw his way.

"UWAAAAAHHHH!" cried Lampo as the knife G threw embedded itself into the curtains behind Lampo, narrowly missing the teen's shirt.

"Maa, maa, G, you shouldn't be angry at Lampo, I'm sure he didn't mean anything," said Asari as he tried to reason with the angry right-hand man.

Knuckle, who had moved over to the Storm, Rain, and Lightning Guardians' side of the room, added, "Asari's right to the limit, G! Christmas is a time where we should have peace with each other, and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. You shouldn't be fighting with Lampo during Christmas."

G was about to snap a reply to the priest, but Giotto decided it was high time that his Guardians should be stopped. Going into what G called "boss-mode", Giotto stood up from his seat.

"Enough!" his commanding voice rang out, instantly silencing the occupants of the room as they turned to look at their boss. Even the leader of CEDEF and the melon-headed illusionist stopped fighting and paid their attention on the blond.

"Stop fighting like a bunch of kids! We're a mafia famiglia! We're grown-ups, not immature children!" said Giotto.

G was the first to apologize, though grudgingly, to Lampo. "Sorry, brat," muttered G, while Lampo's jaw went slack, and Asari and Knuckle were grinning good-naturedly. Alaude, as usual, didn't apologize. Actually, Giotto would have a heart attack if _Alaude _of all people apologized. But as it was, the aloof Frenchman simply walked out of the room, his trench coat billowing behind him as Alaude disappeared to who-knows-where. Daemon also didn't apologize, but gave a "Nufufufu… I'll take my leave now, Vongola…" as the illusionist was engulfed by mist, which cleared not long after, revealing the absence of the first generation Mist Guardian. Meanwhile, Lampo had gotten over his shock, and said, "Lampo accepts your apologies!"

Knuckle eventually shepherded Lampo off, because "children his age should be in bed by this hour, even though it's Christmas Eve". Although Lampo objected, he still followed the ex-boxer out of the dining room. Giotto checked the clock, and was surprised to see it was nearly 10.30 pm. Not long after the Sun and Lightning Guardian left, Giotto also left with G and Asari following him, until Asari turned in for the night when he reached his bedroom. So Giotto and G carried on, until they were standing in front of G's bedroom door.

"Good night, Giotto," said G, his hand already about to turn the knob for his door, "and Merry Christmas."

"Good night to you too, G. Merry Christmas," was Giotto's warm reply before he carried on down the hallway to his bedroom.

In front of his bedroom Giotto paused. He could choose to get some sleep, since stopping his Guardians from demolishing the dining room had taken a lot out of him, or he could do his paperwork so the next day he wouldn't open his office doors to see stacks of paperwork the height of Mont Blanc everywhere. The blond's Hyper Intuition was telling him to do the paperwork, while his brain was telling him to go to bed.

In the end, Giotto chose to do paperwork, following his Hyper Intuition. As Giotto entered his spacious office, he could only hope that he wouldn't wake up in the morning with a severe headache.

Giotto felt exhausted. Even though he had been working hard for more than an hour already, the sea of paperwork that covered his desk and parts of the floor didn't seem to decrease at all, despite his speed at scanning, signing, and then filing the crisp white sheets.

3 buildings in Sochi, destroyed by Daemon Spade. _Scribble, scribble, file._

Hotel and bar in London destroyed by Alaude. _Scribble, scribble, file._

Town square in Amsterdam broken because of Alaude. _Scribble, scribble... file._

5 houses in Berlin residential area… area destroyed by Daemon… Spade. _Scrib…._

Before he knew it, Giotto had fallen asleep on his desk, snoring lightly.

Giotto was awakened by a loud crash in his office. A dust cloud covered the room, providing a screen for whatever had disturbed the previous peace and silence. Instantly, the mafia boss was on alert, entering Hyper Dying Will mode, the orange flame bursting to life on his forehead and gloves.

Giotto assumed that the person had come through the chimney, and landed in the fireplace (ungracefully), and the impact had kicked up the dust cloud. The dust was settling now, and Giotto could see a human silhouette in his office now. The person, who Giotto assumed to be some kind of assassin (although what kind of famiglia would send one as clumsy as this was beyond him), picked himself off the ground. The man's back was turned, making Giotto unable to see his face. The strangest thing was, even though this person had managed to infiltrate the Vongola mansion (which was no small feat), his Hyper Intuition wasn't sending warning bells ringing throughout his head.

"Owie… That hurt…" said the assassin, as he dusted off his clothes. As the last particles of dust died down, the man turned around.

The assassin looked to be about 20, with light blond hair and a lean body (was the man wearing a Santa Claus outfit?). The most striking feature of the man was his bright brown eyes, which were had a sort of gentleness to it that was unbefitting for someone who was hired to kill, though underneath all the gentleness Giotto could see a sort of jaded look in the man's eyes, clashing with his youthful appearance.

Giotto could read the man as easily as one read a book. He was starting to think that either the famiglia that had sent the assassin here had a couple of screws loose or the man really wasn't an assassin. Even so, he decided to keep his guard up and his Sky Flames active should his Hyper Intuition actually prove wrong.

The man seemed to realize that there was a mafia boss awake with gloves and Dying Will Flames poised to attack him should he be deemed a threat.

"Oh, you're awake!" said the man in surprise.

"Who are you and what purpose do you have in the Vongola mansion?" asked Giotto in a level tone that gave nothing away, never relaxing his stance as he pinned his orange eyes on the stranger.

The man seemed to have been expecting the question, for he let out a light-hearted laugh (another feat he should be commended for. It was rare for someone to laugh in Giotto's presence when the boss was in HDWM.)

"Hmm, you can call me Tino. As for why I'm here… Well, I'm here to deliver your Christmas presents, although I really didn't mean to wake you up. Sorry about that," said the man apologetically.

Giotto certainly was not expecting this as an answer. His flames disappeared (because of shock, he thinks, when he looks back and replays this encounter over again. Although in his defense, anyone would have had the same reaction if they were approached by someone in a Santa outfit, who is claiming to be Santa, and said Santa decides to give them presents out of the blue. And this Santa doesn't even have a beard.).

"Wha….?"

Tino nodded, "Of couse! You're Vongola Primo, aren't you?" he trailed off, a small frown on his face, "If you aren't, that would be a problem…"

Giotto raised an eyebrow as he replied, "And what if I am?"

"Then there's no problem at all!" said Tino as he resumed his cheerful demeanor. He then opened an enormous sack that Giotto hadn't realized was sitting on his Persian rug. Out of the sack, Tino took a checklist and 7 presents the colors of his and his Guardians' Flames. Then he scratched out what Giotto assumed was all their names.

"Giotto Vongola, you have an orange muffler made from the finest Merino wool. G, your right-hand man, has a Balinese cat figurine. Ugetsu Asari, or Asari Ugetsu, has a Japanese flute, the shakuhachi, which is made from Japan's finest bamboo. Lampo gets candies and other sweets from confectionaries all over the world… Chinese medicine and the book on the art of acupuncture are for Knuckle, the Sun Guardian. Alaude gets a Gilbird pillow—limited edition version, of course—" Giotto didn't know what a Gilbird was, or what Alaude would do with a pillow of all things (he was expecting the Frenchman to get something more suited for combat for Christmas), but there must've been some kind of reason for his Cloud Guardian to get it. "—and last but certainly not the least, Daemon Spade gets a grade F clarity, ideal cut, grade D color, whole, 2 carat diamond wedding rings, from Russia! Is that all? Yes, I think that's everyone there," said Tino, "So, any questions?"

Although Giotto wanted to ask what a Gilbird was, he refrained from doing so, positive he would get confused with the explanation. So in the end he ended up shaking his head.

Tino said, "Okay, then—"

"_Idiota_, what's taking you so long?! I know it doesn't take this ******* long to deliver damn presents!" said a rude voice from up the chimney, "Don't make me come down there to—!" the voice continued describing Tino's fate if he didn't get up in the next 3 minutes with vocabulary so colorful it would have put even G to shame.

"Who's that?" asked Giotto curiously.

"That's Lovino Vargas, my Italian friend. He's accompanying me, with his twin Feliciano while I make my rounds in Italy," said Tino with a grin.

"Finland, you better get your sorry *** up here! My brother's about to glom—VENEZIANO, STOP THAT!" yelled Lovino.

"Ve~ Fratello, I'm tired, and I'm hungry! Can we stop by somewhere and eat pasta~?" a voice nearly identical to Lovino's whined. In the office below the twins, Tino sighed.

"Well, I'd better get up there and save Lovino. It was nice chatting with you, Giotto of Vongola."

"FINLAND!" shouted Lovino from the rooftop.

"I really should get going now!" said Tino as he hoisted the sack with no difficulty.

He was about to climb back up the chimney, but Giotto had to ask a question, his Hyper Intuition acting up.

"Why did he call you Finland?"

"Lovino called me that?" said Tino, "He really shouldn't have, you know, and you weren't supposed to have heard that… But since you're the first adult to ever have seen me in a _very_ long time, I suppose I'll tell you." Tino straightened, and then gave a formal bow, "My name is Tino Vanaiamen, known as Santa Claus during Christmas season, more commonly known as the personification of the nation of Finland."

To say that Giotto was shocked was an understatement. His jaw was already on its way to the floor. Tino chuckled.

"I know it's a bit much to take in, but it's the truth."

"Wait a minute… Then the two up there are…"

"Lovino is the personification of South Italy, while his brother Feliciano is North Italy. We usually call North Italy as Italy and Lovino as Romano though," said Finland with a spark of humor in his eyes.

"FINLAND!" "Ve~"

"I really have to go now! Merry Christmas!" said Finland as he disappeared up the chimney.

And so the founder of Vongola was left alone in his office with 7 presents the colors of the rainbow, while the echo of jingling bells slowly faded into the distance.

He never saw them again.

"Gi…ake u… He….otto… wake up!"

Giotto blearily opened his eyes to see his Guardians all assembled in his office, all of them concernedly (or in Alaude's and Daemon's cases, looking as if they were about to kill him and look as if they didn't really care respectively) looking at their boss as G fussed over him.

"Good morning, G, what is it?" said a sleepy Giotto. "Merry Christmas, by the way." He added as an afterthought.

"Giotto! We thought you were kidnapped!" cried G.

"You know, G turned the mansion upside down searching for you," said Asari with a chuckle.

"Shut up, flute freak!"

Lampo said lazily, "Yare yare, Giotto, they dragged me out of bed. And they were making such a fuss, even Alau—" he hurriedly corrected his sentence under the Cloud Guardian's glare. "—I mean, I'm expecting some kind of compensation out of this," said a quaking Lampo.

"Nufufu….. Don't think I was searching for you because I was worried, it's just that you would be more useful to Vongola alive and well…" said Daemon

Alaude just gave a typical "Hn" and left it at that.

Giotto was touched that everyone was worried for him, even though they tried to hide it with their usual personalities. Before he knew it, tears were flowing down his cheeks.

G was panicking. "Giotto! What's wrong with you? Are you alright?"

"No, no, I'm fine, G! Don't worry! I'm perfectly alright!" said Giotto quickly, hoping that G wouldn't be too anxious over him, "Really! I just feel lucky that you're all my Guardians. G, Asari, Lampo, Knuckle, Alaude, Daemon, you're all special to me! I wouldn't have anyone else as my Guardians, not even if the whole world was against me, y'know?"

There was silence in the room as the other Mafiosi processed their boss' words, broken by Lampo, with an unexpected change of subject.

"What're those?" asked the green-haired teen, while pointing at the 7 wrapped parcels Tino had delivered the night before.

Frankly, Giotto wasn't really expecting the gifts to be there. He had blamed his overactive imagination for giving such a vivid dream. There was no possible way for the personification of Finland himself to come all the way to the mansion just to deliver presents, but there were the said presents, sitting innocently on the office floor and as real as Giotto himself was.

"They're Christmas presents for all of you. As you probably have already guessed, your present matches your Flame attributes, so it shouldn't be too hard to identify yours," said Giotto.

"Oh, can we open them?" asked Lampo excitedly.

Giotto smiled at this.

"You can, if you want to, or you can just take them and leave right now too." The last part was obviously meant for Daemon and Alaude, especially if the things Finland had put in there had been according to what he said.

Daemon and Alaude naturally took the presents and left, one shrouding himself in mist before disappearing, the other simply walking out of the door, after giving a slight nod to Giotto. The others quickly opened their gifts, and were all satisfied with the things they got.

"Hey, Giotto, where did you get these gifts?" asked G. Asari, Lampo, and Knuckle were also curious, but stayed silent as they waited for Giotto's answer.

"Well, it's a strange story. Last night, a young man visited me…"

_Fin_


End file.
